32 things we learned from Week 13 of the 2018 NFL season

SportsPulse: On a Sunday that saw many upsets none were bigger than the Packers baffling loss to Cardinals which lead to the firing of Mike McCarthy. Trysta Krick recaps a crazy weekend in the NFL.
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1. To borrow a favorite expression from teens and the Twitterati, "smh." The NFL just slogged through its worst week of 2018. However, unlike bad pub incurred from the national anthem controversy and/or exacerbated by one POTUS, the league's issues of the moment are completely self-inflicted and utterly regrettable. Nothing like derailing what had been a feel-good season previously highlighted by bushels of points, resurgent TV ratings and emergent stars.

3c. No one expects officials to get every call right, and I'm not raving about questionable fouls. To some extent, this is now a known occupational hazard players are highly aware of. To another extent, we don't need borderline instances overlegislated — just as they aren't on for pass interference or holding. (And, to be clear, numerous players are trying to adjust their approach to tackling.) However, as Jarrett suggests, replay should be in play to ensure the egregious hits don't go unpunished.

3d. So let's end the hypocrisy. Roger Goodell and Al Riveron need to get on the same page. Maybe Rog needs to take Riveron, who's in charge of the league's rule enforcement, to task. But all we have now is a league touting its guidelines to safeguard players yet summarily paying little more than lip service to them. Some example it sends to players and leagues right down the chain to Pop Warner even as they look to the NFL for leadership and practical solutions to a systemic issue that isn't going to fade.

4. Rant over. The NFL is a great league with plenty of great people from its headquarters to team rosters to unsung support staffers in every city. Football also teaches great lessons, and the NFL can have immensely positive impacts in its communities. But no blind eye in this space, usually reserved for celebrating accomplishments on the field. Moving on ...

5. But first ... the NFL can also be a cruel business. Just ask now former Packers coach Mike McCarthy, canned Sunday after Green Bay somehow lost to the Cardinals. McCarthy leaves having led this franchise to postseason in nine of his 13 seasons while capturing the Super Bowl XLV title following the 2010 campaign.

8. But it's not as if Patrick Mahomes was fading from the debate. The Chiefs quarterback hung four more TD passes on the Raiders, giving him an NFL-best 41. As much as Hunt's on-field absence could hinder Kansas City, it could ultimately bolste the MVP résumé for Mahomes, who led the team with 52 rushing yards against Oakland.

9. Also still in the MVP conversation: Rams Todd Gurley (165 total yards 2 TDs on Sunday) and Aaron Donald (2 more sacks, 4 tackles for loss) as their team wrapped up the NFC West.

9a. Donald is now on pace for 22 sacks.

9b. Gurley has 19 TDs (tying his league-leading total from 2017) and is on pace to finish with 25.

10. Finally, don't discount Brees' former understudy, Philip Rivers, as a bona fide MVP contender. Rivers, who's never won the elusive hardware, either, had another big night (299 yards, 2 TD passes) as the Chargers upset the Steelers — they're offsides again — in Pittsburgh. Nunc coepi, Phil. And congratulations on news that you've got another child on the way. Like Brees, your wife is a saint.

I can confirm that Philip Rivers and wife Tiffany are expecting their ninth child. Congrats to them both.

13. Miami's Xavien Howard has intercepted four passes over the past two weeks. He now has a pair of INTs in three games this year and leads the league with seven overall.

14. All four NFC North teams lost Sunday. Black-and-blue division indeed.

15. Kudos to the Houston Texans for officially becoming the league's hottest team with their ninth straight win even as they cope with the recent loss of owner Bob McNair and Friday's death of their No. 1 fan, President George H. W. Bush.

15a. Meanwhile, the Saints, Colts and Bears all saw win streaks of at least five go by the wayside.

16. Airtight Case? QB Case Keenum was picked off in each of Denver's first eight games, and the Broncos went 3-5. But he hasn't committed a turnover in his last four outings, three of those wins, and his team is now a game back of the AFC's final wild-card spot.

17. Jameis Winston threw a pair of TD passes in Sunday's upset of Carolina. His 81 career touchdown throws make him the franchise's all-time leader after he overtook Josh Freeman. (Bucs QB history pretty much in a nutshell, no?)

18a. Remarkably, Winston did not give away any free footballs, going turnover-free for the second straight week. He committed at least one in his first five games this season (and a total of 12).

18b. Just as remarkably, Winston's counterpart, Carolina QB Cam Newton — he claimed leading up to this game that he was playing the best football of his career — was picked off four times for the first time since his rookie season in 2011.

18c. Bucs S Andrew Adams pilfered Newton three times, tying a team record. Tampa Bay began Sunday having intercepted just three passes all season.

18d. While we're on the topic of remarkable takeaways from Bucs-Panthers, Carolina backup QB Taylor Heinicke got the call on the game's final play, a Hail Mary from his own 49-yard trailing 24-17 — and a throw you would assume the Panthers are paying Newton to make. (He didn't say whether his shoulder was sore afterward.)

19. Related (but unrelated), as my valued colleague Mike Middlehurst-Schwartz so succinctly pointed out Sunday: "The one throw that the Bills pay Josh Allen to make ..."

19a. ICYMI, on Buffalo's final snap (the Bills trailed by four) from Miami's 30-yard line, Allen — the rookie first-round quarterback was touted as having the strongest arm in recent memory leading up to this year's draft — underthrew wide-open tight end Charles Clay in the end zone on a cross-field throw. Oof.

24. The Jets blocked a PAT and a punt Sunday. They also remained blocked from the win column after coughing up a 16-0 first-half lead to the Titans.

25. Entering Sunday, Falcons WR Mohamed Sanu (a high school quarterback and Wildcat threat at Rutgers) had a perfect 158.3 passer rating over the course of his seven-year career — a stretch that included completions on all six of his throws, which produced three TDs and 228 yards.

25a. But Sanu misfired in Atlanta's loss to Baltimore for his first career incompletion.

28. Congrats to Bill Belichick. He reached #BB250 — OK, that's not really a thing ... I checked. But Belichick does now have 250 wins, including playoffs, as New England's coach.

29. Circling back to NFL problems, the league better hope China didn't tune in to Colts-Jaguars. Jacksonville's 6-0 win tied for the lowest-scoring game in the past dozen years ... and probably set the league back 12 years.

30. In that vein, China, you might want to skip Jags-Titans on Thursday night — advice we might all be wise to heed.

31. We share your outrage, @BortlesFacts ... Cody Kessler and 211 yards of offense was no upgrade in Jacksonville.

32. Dearest mother — @CaptAndrewLuck and his battalion were ambushed by the "Jungle Cat men." Shockingly, his sidearm did not unleash a triumvirate of TD salvos and, instead, he was thrice overrun by the "Jungle Cat men." Simply stunning. He was even snookered at one point by that devious malcontent, Corporal Ramsey.

32a. For those of you not into Civil War-era jargon — maybe it's Civil War-era jargon anyway? — Luck's streak of games with at least three TD passes was snapped at eight. He was also sacked more than once for the first time since Week 4.

Dearest mother —My disappointment is immeasurable. Our unit fell to the Jungle Cat men. We simply were unable to gain the necessary ground to fortify a victory. I find myself flummoxed by the outcome of the final maneuver of the battle. We must learn and move onward.— Andrew

Arizona Cardinals running back Chase Edmonds (29) celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown during the third quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Jeff Hanisch, USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Robert Woods (17) and quarterback Jared Goff (16) celebrate after hooking up for a touchdown during the second quarter against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Raj Mehta, Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) scrambles out of the pocket under pressure from Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs (55) during the first quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. John David Mercer,USA TODAY Spor

New York Giants linebacker Alec Ogletree (52) after intercepting a pass off of Chicago Bears quarterback Chase Daniel (4) in the first series for a touchdown at MetLife Stadium. Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports

Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker Leighton Vander Esch (55) and middle linebacker Jaylon Smith (54) react on the field before the game against the New Orleans Saints at AT&T Stadium. Tim Heitman, USA TODAY Sports